Construction of a 20 to 25-bed ward at the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston, is to commence this year. The two-storey structure will house the hospital’s paediatric cardiac centre patients, and an 18-bed overnight facility for parents of patients on the ward. The infrastructure development project, valued at $100 million, is being jointly financed by the National Health Fund...

Executive Director of the Legal Aid Council (LAC), Hugh Faulkner, has reported that the LAC provided duty counsel to 3,331 persons for the 2018/2019 fiscal year. “For duty counsel, 3,331 sessions were done to assist Jamaicans. In other words, 3,331 Jamaicans had an attorney present to advise them of their rights during [police] question-and-answer sessions,” Mr. Faulkner told JIS News....

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, recently toured the world-renowned Joy Spence Appleton Estate Rum Experience, located in Nassau Valley, St. Elizabeth. The tour, which gave an insight into Jamaica’s rich history and culture, included Joy Spence, the first female Master Blender in the world and Appleton Estate's Master Blender; Managing Director of J. Wray & Nephew Limited, Jean-Philippe...

Jamaica will be adding a Youth Forum as a special feature of the Seventh Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas and the Caribbean, to be held from July 7 to 10. “We are introducing, for the first time, a youth forum of the disaster risk conference. We have placed that on the agenda to be one of...

The Fairfield to Tucker roadway in St. James is being rehabilitated, says Community Relations Officer at the National Works Agency’s (NWA) Western Region, Janel Ricketts. In an interview with JIS News, Ms. Ricketts said the project, which is being done at a cost of $74.1 million, represents the first phase of a comprehensive plan for the area that involves upgrading...

The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) is seeking to build national consensus on the Government’s strategy to significantly reduce crime. Crime is one of the priority areas of focus outlined in the PSOJ’s 2020-2022 Strategy, which was presented at a recent press briefing at the organisation’s offices in Kingston. PSOJ President, Keith Duncan, noted that a special private-sector working...

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, is calling on Jamaicans to take care of themselves this flu season. Speaking with JIS News during a tour of the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay, St. James, on Friday, January 10, Dr. Tufton said persons should be on high alert for the symptoms. “Jamaicans need to be on...